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View Poll Results: Which date is best for you for a Kayaking kache event

Bo's island

Swan Island is a bit further by boat because they do not allow landing at the same place as the ferry. You need to paddle to the other side of the island.

Little Chebeague also has camping, but I think it has less capacity. It doesn't look like we have too many people as of now, so that may be a good option.

I personally love the idea of going to Jewel. I haven't been there and it's a good way to get those missing caches!

It just isn't a good place for inexperienced kayakers unless conditions are perfect. At the very minimum, everyone who goes out there should be able to perform some type of self rescue, like a paddle float rescue.

A chase boat would really add to safety.

One more thing about Jewel, if you are expecting a quiet, personal island experience, you will be disappointed. Everyone who I've talked to says that it is a bit like going to the circus. I love the circus!

The Bo's Island cache is really on Trott Island across from Cape Porpoise, down near Kennebunkport. The cache description mentions camping on the island. I didn't see any official camping places on either Chebeague island, but there are plenty of grassy areas on Little Chebeague near the abandoned houses.

I found two Swans Islands in Maine. I did not see any caches on the one TAT was referring to (but we could change that!). The other Swans Island is about 3 miles SW of Mt. Desert Island and contains 4 caches. There would be a lot of walking to get them all, probably 13-15 miles on land. Probably too far north for what you were intending.

The list of Casco Bay caches sounds good. One of them, We don't need no Education, is doable on foot after parking on the island. It's a nice walk and a fun find, and it could easily be done by boat/kayak.

I'm not a kayaker but spent many days out in Casco Bay in a former life. Used to go out a lot in an 21' wooden power boat. The passage between Great Chebeague Island and Long Island can be very dangerous especially at tide change out. The natural harbor at the north end of Jewell is known as "The Punch Bowl". Boaters used to raft overnight there and it could get a bit rowdy. If it isn't a mirror flat day, the waters out that way can get very rough. Don't know who owns Lanes Island off of Fogg's Point in Freeport N43 47.167 W70 7.730 but have had great picnics there. Someone might contact LL Bean and see if they would allow kayaks to be put in at their kayak center up on Flying Point in Freeport and park overnight. http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline...ing/index.html

I personally love the idea of going to Jewel. I haven't been there and it's a good way to get those missing caches!

It just isn't a good place for inexperienced kayakers unless conditions are perfect. At the very minimum, everyone who goes out there should be able to perform some type of self rescue, like a paddle float rescue.

A chase boat would really add to safety.

One more thing about Jewel, if you are expecting a quiet, personal island experience, you will be disappointed. Everyone who I've talked to says that it is a bit like going to the circus. I love the circus!

I really like the idea of Jewell Island also because like I said we could hit all the caches on all the islands on the way out and back. But like TAT said it may not be good for inexperienced kayakers. I don't even know if my experienced is what TAT thinks I should be at. I have only done rivers, ponds and lakes in my kayak.

In 25 words or less?

One could write a book about this! In fact, there are many. If I was to choose just one, it would be "Sea Kayaker, Deep Trouble". It is a collection of accident reports followed by "lessons learned".

There is no magic answer to this question. For every scenario one person can describe, another person can easily show that they "do it all the time and nothing bad ever happened". So, I'll just say that you should: 1. Be aware of what can go wrong. 2. Have a practiced plan to avoid the dangers.

Some of the things that can go wrong:
Drowning caused by:
Hypothermia
Trauma
Exhaustion

Collision with:
boats
rocks
ocean bottom
sea life

It is easy to think that equipment alone will keep you safe, but if you haven't tried to use any particular piece of equipment is to use it first. Perhaps the best way to explain it is to say that the more familiar you are with more safety equipment, the more likely you will be to have fun and not tragedy.

You can reduce the risk of hypothermia by dressing for immersion, a wet or dry suit. (Both can be uncomfortable in 90 degree weather and either can fail) You can stay out of the water if you know just the right bracing stroke for the wave that is about to capsize your boat. If you know how to roll, you might not be in the water long enough to get cooled off! Or, if your roll fails you, you can still get back in the boat quick enough if you can do a paddle float rescue. Of course, you may have been able to avoid that tragic wave by taking a less exposed route, leaving before the wind kicked up, going on a "neap tide" day when the currents are less strong, or even went around slack tide.

Collisions are a real concern in Casco Bay because it is very crowded with pleasure boats and no matter where we start from, we must cross a marked shipping channel. Kayaks are completely invisible to ships radar. Freighters could not stop even if they did see us. A few power boaters think of kayaks as "speed bumps".

Then there are the combinations of things that go wrong. I've read that these are the most common ways to get in trouble. For example, you pulled a muscle launching your boat. Then, you favored your good arm. By the time the big wave hit, you didn't have a good brace, couldn’t mange any self rescue but managed to get back into the boat with help. If only you had floatation, you could have gotten the boat bailed out a lot quicker But, now, you are so exhausted you capsize again, taking another party member with you as they try to do an assisted rescue that they only read about.

It is not about equipment, but here is a list to consider:
Wet/Dry suite
PFD (if you don't want to wear it, just go in 10 feet of water and try to put it on. Then decide.)
Spry skirt.
Maximum floatation (keeps bailing to a minimum)
Paddle float.
Pump
Towline
warm clothes in watertight container
food and water
spare paddle (must work with paddle float)
Compass and chart
Tide and current table
whistle or horn
Signal device of marine radio

Well, that's a lot more than 25 words, and a lot more than anyone wants to think about for a simple overnight trip to that's only "this far on the map". But, whether you know or accept the risks, they are there. I would much rather be embarrassed by how calm and easy the trip was then to have to watch helplessly or worse yet, put someone else in danger. The irony is that unless you do go, you will miss something very special!

I thought I would include a couple maps of Jewell Island to help people relate to what we are refering to. Someone pointed out to me that we could put in at the tip of Harpswell and if would be a shorted and easier trip. This is true but it would put the island caches at the other end. But we could jsut go out as a group and do a kayak trip. I am game with what ever everyone else wants to do. I would really like to get a couple caches though.

I guess I never thought of the other risks. I think that an over nighter might be a tad riskie considering that most of us are not world class sea kayakers. While we may be very comfortable on any lake in Maine and any stream I guess that getting sucked out to sea and becoming Titanic "the sequel" might not be such a good idea. I have a great sense of adventure and there is no doubt that every thing may turn out fine however, we know how the weather in maine works. I might be alittle worried that getting out there would be the easy part but when the winds pick up the next day and the waves are huge we might struggle alittle bit.